History Film / JohnCarter

* AlternateSelf: John Carter learns he is actually a physical duplicate, and his Earth body was left in some sort of SuspendedAnimation while his consciousness is on Mars. He compares the process to the telegraph (copies of messages, etc). [[spoiler:Becomes important in the end, as he will die on Mars if his Earth body is killed. See BatmanGambit below]].

* BatmanGambit: At the end, we find out that most of the framing story has been one big one [[spoiler:by John to get back to Barsoom by luring a Thern to his house. He faked his death and hid the instructions on how to open his mausoleum (where the Therns thought they would find his dead body) in his letter to Edgar. He knew that the Therns would be watching Edgar to find out how to get into the mausoleum, so he hid back and ambushed one of them when they were focused on stalking Edga.r]]

In 19th century America, a wealthy traveler named John Carter has suddenly died. His nephew is instructed to read his private journal...

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: The Tharks never stop calling John "Virginia".

Years ago, Carter comes across a cave of gold with strange inscriptions. Inside, he finds a medallion that transports him to the planet Barsoom, known to him as Mars. The lower gravity gives him enhanced strength and the ability to jump great distances. He encounters human-like copper-toned Martians called Red Men, and four-armed, green-skinned Martians called Tharks. Though he just wants to go home, his otherworldly abilities get the attention of a Green Martian warrior, Tars Tarkas, and of a Red Martian princess, Dejah Thoris.

Years ago, Carter comes across a cave of gold with strange inscriptions. Inside, he finds a medallion that transports him to the planet Barsoom, known to him as Mars. The lower gravity gives him enhanced strength and the ability to jump great distances. He encounters human-like copper-toned Martians called Red Men, and four-armed, green-skinned Martians called Tharks. Though he just wants to go home, his otherworldly abilities get the attention of a warrior of the Tharks, Tars Tarkas, and of a princess of the Red Men, Dejah Thoris.

* OneManArmy: John, particularly in the scene where he takes on a horde of Tharks all by himself (yes, Woola helps him, which he doesn't like at all).

* ChallengingTheChief: Whoever gets to be Jeddak of the Tharks has to have defeated (not necessarily killed) the previous one in a duel, though onlookers have to support the challenger. [[Tars Tarkas loses his position to Tal Hajus]] [[spoiler: who in turn loses to John.]]

* CommonSpeech: The various races of Barsoom appear to speak a common Barsoomian language. The term Jeddak (king/chief) is used by both the Red and Green Martians. However, individual languages are also present, as shown by assorted prayers and terms unique to the Green Martians (which the film doesn't render in English).

Years ago, Carter comes across a cave of gold with strange inscriptions. Inside, he finds a medallion that transports him to the planet Barsoom, known to him as Mars. The lower gravity gives him enhanced strength and the ability to jump great distances. He encounters human-like copper-toned Martians called Red Men, and four-armed, green-skinned Martians called Tharks. Though he just wants to go home, his otherworldly abilities get the attention of the Jeddak (king) of the Tharks, Tars Tarkas, and of a princess of the Red Men, Dejah Thoris.

* AdaptationalBadass: In the novel, Tal Hajus is a lazy VillainousGlutton who pretty much [[OrcusOnHisThrone never moves from the Jeddak's throne he's parked himself on]]. He's just as cruel, but much more active and in much better shape, here (not that it saves him from an ignominious end, though). See also {{Xenafication}} below.

* AntiClimax: The fight between John and Tal Hajus; the fight is just as short in the source material, though there it's Tars Tarkas who kills him.

* BigBadEnsemble: Sab Than wants to take over as much of Barsoom as he can, Tal Hajus just wants to be Jeddak of the Tharks, and Matai Shang and the Therns are manipulating ''everyone'' simply because that's how they operate.

* ChallengingTheChief: Whoever gets to be Jeddak of the Tharks has to have defeated the previous one in a duel, though onlookers have to support the challenger.

* CompositeCharacter: Several minor characters from the book were merged into more major ones- Than Kosis (Jeddak of Zodanga) was merged with his son Sab Than; Lorquas Ptomel (the original Jed of the Tharks) was merged with his lieutenant Tars Tarkas; Mors Kajak was merged with his father Tardos Mors, making Tardos Dejah's father, rather than grandfather.

* ExactWords: Tars Tarkas dubs John Carter ''Dotar Sojat'', "my right hand". Later, when John unexpectedly [[ChallengingTheChief challenges]] Tal Hajus for the Thark leadership, the latter protests that he's not even a Thark. Tars Tarkas says he is "my right hand".

'''''John Carter''''' is a live action film released on March 9, 2012. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and is based upon the first novel in the ''JohnCarterOfMars'' series by EdgarRiceBurroughs. It is directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for directing ''FindingNemo''.

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:When John is banished back to Earth, uses takes a medicine that puts him into a death-like sleep to throw the Therns off his trail.]]

* ForTheEvulz: The Therns have no true aim behind their actions. Indeed they have no cause ''other'' than "just because they can."

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[spoiler:Edgar Rice Burroughs is the young nephew of John Carter in this story, who obviously uses the tale of Mars in his uncle's journal for inspiration to write the Barsoom series. This was a feature in the original novels as well.]]

* NotSoDifferent: John's claims of having no cause are mirrored by [[spoiler:the Therns]].

John Carter is a live action film released on March 9, 2012. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and is based upon the first novel in the JohnCarterOfMars series by EdgarRiceBurroughs. It is directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for directing FindingNemo.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The film was apparently titled ''JohnCarterOfMars'' at first. A promotional logo for the film is a stylized "JCM". But then Mars was dropped from the title, reportedly to disassociate it with ''MarsNeedsMoms''. This left the film with a nondescript title. John Carter is a quite ordinary name compared to the likes of FlashGordon or BuckRogers and it stands out precisely because of the association with Mars. No wonder this didn't go over well with fans and others.
** Earlier, ''A Princess of Mars'' was dropped because people thought boys wouldn't watch movies with "princess" in the title.
* FakeAmerican: Taylor Kitsch (Canadian) as John Carter.
* FakeBrit: Lynn Collins (American, plays a Red Martian speaking in an English accent).

* AncientAstronauts: The Therns.

* TheQueensLatin / TranslationConvention: Red and White Martians speak with an English accent, which must stand for a more sophisticated dialect of the Barsoomian tongue.

!! The film includes the following tropes:
* ActorAllusion: Ciaran Hinds and James Purefoy are cast as [[{{Rome}} the ruler of a glorious city-state and said ruler's right hand man]], respectively.

* AncientAstronauts: The Therns
* AntiClimax: The fight between John and Tal Hajus; the fight is just as short in the source material, though there it's Tars Tarkas who kills him.
* ArcWelding: The Therns don't show up until the second book, though the religion of Issus is introduced from the beginning. Here, they're tied to both the Helium vs. Zodanga conflict and how Carter gets to Mars in the first place.
* BadassAbnormal: JohnCarter is a BadassNormal on Earth. On Mars, thanks to the lower gravity, he's superhuman (er, super-Martian).
* BadassAdorable: Woola
* BadassBookworm: Dejah Thoris, Regent of Science ''and'' LadyOfWar.

* BaldOfEvil: All Therns are naturally bald.
* BatmanGambit: At the end, we find out that most of the framing story has been one big one [[spoiler: by John to get back to Barsoom by luring a Thern to his house. He faked his death and hid the instructions on how to open his mausoleum (where the Therns thought they would find his dead body) in his letter to Edgar. He knew that the Therns would be watching Edgar to find out how to get into the mausoleum, so he hid back and ambushed one of them when they were focused on stalking Edgar]].
* BigBadEnsemble: Sab Than wants to take over as much of Barsoom as he can, Tal Hajus just wants to be Jeddak of the Tharks, and Matai Shang and the Therns are manipulating ''everyone'' simply because that's how they operate.

* CallASmeerpARabbit: Gigantic predators with six gorilla-like limbs, hippopotamus-tusks and white fur - called simply White Apes.
* CompositeCharacter: Several minor characters from the book were merged into more major ones- Than Kosis (Jeddak of Zodanga) was merged with his son Sab Than; Lorquas Ptomel (the original Jed of the Tharks) was merged with his lieutenant Tars Tarkas; Mors Kajak was merged with his father Tardos Mors, making Tardos Dejah's father, rather than grandfather.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: [[CaptainObvious John Carter is the protagonist]], Dejah Thoris is the deuteragonist, and Tars Tarkas is the tritagonist.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[{{Film/Superman}} John first meets Dejah when he catches her in mid-air, saving her from falling to her death.]] Fitting, as this movie's source material helped inspire the latter.

** Earlier, ''A Princess of Mars'' was dropped because people thought boys wouldn't watch movies with "princess" in the title.
** This Troper had heard the "of Mars" part was dropped because it was thought girls wouldn't watch a movie with "Mars" in the title.

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: When John is banished back to Earth, uses takes a medicine that puts him into a death-like sleep to throw the Therns off his trail]].

* ForgottenFallenFriend: John and Colonel Powell can't exactly be called friends but they ''did'' save each others' lives and it was via rescuing Powell that John ended up on Mars in the first place. If John ever remembers he left a badly wounded man behind he never shows it - until [[spoiler: he returns to Earth and finds Powell's decomposing remains still stuck in the cave.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[spoiler: Edgar Rice Burroughs is the young nephew of John Carter in this story, who obviously uses the tale of Mars in his uncle's journal for inspiration to write the Barsoom series. This was a feature in the original novels as well.]]

* HumanAliens: As per the books, the Red Martians and Therns are visually virtually indistinguishable from Earth humans.
* HumanoidAbomination: The Therns give off this vibe.

* InTheBlood: The reason Sola is one of the kindest Tharks? [[spoiler: Her father, Tars Tarkas, is too, though he hides it better]].

* LadyOfWar: Dejah Thoris.

* MagicFromTechnology: The source of the Therns' more spectacular powers.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Matai Shang to Sab Than.
* ManipulativeBastard: Matai Shang. May qualify for [[MagnificentBastard Magnificence]].

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Sola's kindness and compassion make her, at best, an oddball among her merciless ProudWarriorRaceGuy brethren. [[spoiler: Seems she gets it from her father]].

* NotQuiteTheRightThing: John Carter bravely saves the wounded Colonel Powell from a probable quick death at the hands of the Apache [[spoiler: and thereby (unintentionally) condemns him to die a lingering and lonely death from exposure and blood loss in a cave. Even worse if you consider the battle with the Apache took place out in the open probably close to the cavalry camp meaning rescue - though unlikely - might have been possible if Carter had left Powell for dead.]]

* ProudWarriorRace: The Tharks, and to a lesser extent the Red Martians.
* PsychicPowers: The Red and Green Martians are mildly telepathic (which is how Carter learns their language so quickly); the Therns have much more expansive abilities.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler: The film ends on John Carter's return to Barsoom, where he will likely have to deal with the consequences of his long absence and the Therns' intrigues, particularly since the Therns, their rivals the First Born, and the cult of Issus are the primary focus of the second book, ''The Gods of Mars'']].

* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: The Therns are implied to be these.

** Also, upon learning that Dejah is a princess John sarcastically refers to her as "a princess of Mars," the title of the first book

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: All the Therns can do this, though it appears to be a function of their medallions and bracelets rather than a natural ability.

* TheWildWest: The action takes place there before John Carter gets transported to Mars.
* {{Xenafication}}: Book Dejah always had the ''attitude'' of a ProudWarriorRaceGirl; the film gives her the fighting skills to back it up.
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: An interesting variant. Edgar Rice Burroughs realizes that something's up when his Uncle Jack addresses him as "Ned" in his letter instead of "Edgar". At the end, he finds out that [[spoiler: pressing the letters '''N''', '''E''', and '''D''' on the "Inter Mundos" inscription unlocks John's burial chamber]].
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler: John Carter gets fooled by Matai Shang and sent back to Earth the very night he defeats the enemy army, marries Dejah, and becomes Prince of Barsoom]].

* BatmanGambit / GambitRoulette: At the end, we find out that most of the framing story has been one big one [[spoiler: by John to get back to Barsoom by luring a Thern to his house. He faked his death and hid the instructions on how to open his mausoleum (where the Therns thought they would find his dead body) in his letter to Edgar. He knew that the Therns would be watching Edgar to find out how to get into the mausoleum, so he hid back and ambushed one of them when they were focused on stalking Edgar]].

* CallingASmeerpARabbit: Gigantic predators with six gorilla-like limbs, hippopotamus-tusks and white fur - called simply White Apes.

* BreakoutVillain: Matai Shang isn't mentioned until the second book, and hangs around the edges of the story before being introduced in person in the third. Here, he's being set up as BigBad from the beginning.

* TheAgeless: The Therns do not die from old age but can be killed. [[spoiler:Also, it seems that John Carter stops aging after visit to Barsoom.]]

* BatmanGambit: At the end, we find out that most of the framing story has been one big one [[spoiler: by John to get back to Barsoom by luring a Thern to his house. He faked his death and hid the instructions on how to open his mausoleum (where the Therns thought they would find his dead body) in his letter to Edgar. He knew that the Therns would be watching Edgar to find out how to get into the mausoleum, so he hid back and ambushed one of them when they were focused on stalking Edgar]].

* GambitRoulette: John pulls a pretty impressive one. [[spoiler: He [[FakingTheDead fakes his own death]], sends his nephew his journal, waits until Ned opens his crypt, shoots the Thern that had been following Ned all the time, and regains the medallion that can take him back to Barsoom. It could have been a BatmanGambit (it relies on everyone doing really predictable stuff), but his perfect timing strains its credibility.]]

* OneSceneWonder: Kantos Kan doesn't have much to do besides act as NumberTwo to his king, but he gets the spotlight when he helps John escape one of the several times he's taken prisoner or detained.

* ShapeShifterGuiltTrip: One of the white martians tries something like this near the end.
* SideBet: Between two tharks.

* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: An interesting variant. Edgar Rice Burroughs realizes that something's up when his Uncle Jack addresses him as "Ned" in his letter instead of "Edgar". At the end, he finds out that [[spoiler: pressing the letters '''N''', '''E''', and '''D''' on the "Inter Mondus" inscription unlocks John's burial chamber]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic? '''J'''ohn '''C'''arter, who hails from ''Virginia'', is pursued, jailed, and "killed" by members of an empire, and sealed in a cave, which he emerges from after three days [[spoiler: according to the reckoning of time on one planet]] and returns to the heavens to lead a world into paradise after a unspecified amount of time. And at the end of the movie he has [[spoiler: a disciple spread his gospel across the earth.]]

* DopeSlap: Tars Tarkas towards John when its discovered the wedding is being held in Helium.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: John and Colonel Powell can't exactly be called friends but they ''did'' save each others life and it was via rescuing Powell that John ended up on Mars in the first place. If John ever remembers he left a badly wounded man behind he never shows it - until [[spoiler: he returns to Earth and finds Powell's decomposing remains still stuck in the cave.]]

* LightIsNotGood: The villainous Threns dress in shining silvery robes.

* MightyWhitey: Technically a adaption of the first such story to use the "human among aliens" version. Subverted with the actual White ''Martians'', the Therns, who are evil.

* MyNameIsNotDurwood - The Tharks never stop calling John "Virginia".

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: John first meets Dejah when [[{{Film/Superman}} he catches her in mid-air, saving her from falling to her death.]] Fitting, as this movie's source material helped inspire the latter.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: John's nephew is EdgarRiceBurroughs.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The film was apparently titled ''JohnCarterOfMars'' at first. A promotional logo for the film is a stylized "JCM". but then Mars was dropped from the title, reportedly to disassociate it with ''MarsNeedsMoms''.